U.S. Commander Chides China Over 'Provocative Act'

By

Yuka Hayashi

Feb. 15, 2013 10:36 a.m. ET

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan—The highest-ranking U.S. military commander in Japan expressed concern about Tokyo's intensifying territorial dispute with China, calling it "a very bad situation," and blamed the Chinese navy for what he termed "a provocative act that can become dangerous."

Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, also made a point of praising the Japanese military's handling of a string of...